BREAKING NEWS:
I can’t help but comment on the glowing tweet ESPN’s Jemele Hill sent out about actress Amy Adams giving up her first class seat to a U.S. Soldier. I know there was no intentional disrespect meant by Ms. Hill to the solider, but her glorification of what she said, “speaks to her character” makes me throw up my hands and shake my head. To put it in perspective, Ms. Adams went into coach class, not the Zabul province in Afghanistan where five of our own were killed this month by a coalition jet called to when their unit was taking on heavy enemy fire.
Hill’s instinct to glorify Adams is indicative of the misplaced adulation and hero worship that has infiltrated not just our society, but also the press who found it all too easy to jump on board and build a “feel good” story to drive traffic to their site and increase their numbers to satisfy their advertisers.
Travelers give up their first class seats to soldiers almost every day. Airlines will move soldiers up to first class if they have open seats. Its a common practice that gets no attention until a celebrity does it and the world stops to admire their incredibly selfless act.
Who is the hero here – the soldier or Ms. Adams?
Hill tweeted, 
“Ms. Adams did it so quietly and quickly that it speaks to her character,” said Hill. “And somebody in coach just got a helluva seatmate!”
I beg to differ on Hill’s assessment that “somebody in coach just got a helluva seatmate!” It was most definitely the first class seatmate now next to the soldier that earned the honor of a “helluva seatmate.”
With regard to the soldier, we hope that he is on his way home, but more than likely he’s accompanying fallen heroes back to their loved ones. Just a week ago, three American Marines and a military dog were killed in Kabul, Afghanistan by a Taliban attack. They served on NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and and IED exploded.
The Department of Defense released their names:
Staff Sgt. David H. Stewart, 34, of Stafford, Virginia, died June 20, while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Lance Cpl. Brandon J. Garabrant, 19, of Peterborough, New Hampshire, died June 20, while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Lance Cpl. Adam F. Wolff, 25, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, died June 20, while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
The names of the Marines killed in the friendly fire incident include:
Killed were:
Staff Sgt. Scott R. Studenmund, 24, of Pasadena, California;
Staff Sgt. Jason A. McDonald, 28, of Butler, Georgia;
Spc. Justin R. Helton, 25, of Beaver, Ohio;
Cpl. Justin R. Clouse, 22, of Sprague, Washington; and
Pvt. Aaron S. Toppen, 19, of Mokena, Illinois.
Staff Sgt. Studenmund and Staff Sgt. McDonald were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Spc. Helton was assigned to the 18th Ordnance Company, 192nd Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance Group, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Cpl. Clouse and Pvt. Toppen were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.
Please pray for these Fallen Heroes, their families and for all the soldiers that “give up their seat” every day so that America can be Free.